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This is a dumping ground for links and other stuff for the 2018 4/20 article. Might as well get started now. Feel free to post articles or your suggestions in here up until April 20, 2018 (journal comments remain open forever, if you hadn't noticed). The article will cover topics including but not limited to cannabis, the opioid crisis, and the drug policies of any countries you are interested in, not just the U.S. I especially want articles regarding state/local ballot initiatives, implementation of drug policies, and the like, as well as articles about single events that can fit well on a timeline (such as this). If you want to critique the pro-legalization crowd, that's fine too.

Theoretically, the article could grow to an insane size without pissing everyone off too much with liberal use of the spoiler tag:

*SPOILER* (click to show)*SPOILER* (click to hide)

And don't forget the emojis. ☠☢☣🌋🌵🍁🍄🍍🍕🍷🍸🍹🍺🍻👽💀💉💊💨💰🔥😂🚬

I've already lost some of the links below due to an invalid resource error. I will probably edit my extension to add the equivalent of the "submission draft" feature for journals.

This journal entry will be edited to include more links and notes as we get closer. Although I'll retain a few surprises for the actual article.

Cannabis is the scientific term for the drug colloquially known as "marihuana/marijuana", which is now regarded as an outdated and racist term that was intended to scare the public.

What is the difference between "opioids" and "opiates"? "Opioid" is a broader term:

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Opioids include opiates, an older term that refers to such drugs derived from opium, including morphine itself. Other opioids are semi-synthetic and synthetic drugs such as hydrocodone, oxycodone and fentanyl; antagonist drugs such as naloxone; and endogenous peptides such as the endorphins. The terms opiate and narcotic are sometimes encountered as synonyms for opioid. Opiate is properly limited to the natural alkaloids found in the resin of the opium poppy although some include semi-synthetic derivatives. Narcotic, derived from words meaning 'numbness' or 'sleep', as an American legal term, refers to cocaine and opioids, and their source materials; it is also loosely applied to any illegal or controlled psychoactive drug. In some jurisdictions all controlled drugs are legally classified as narcotics. The term can have pejorative connotations and its use is generally discouraged where that is the case.

I'll probably just pitch in by posting personal drug stories in the comments section. Like that time we packed a potato bug in a friend's bowl and he smoked it, or that time some unscrupulous dope-addicts tried to sell me a pellet of rabbit-shit as "hash."

Up here in Canada, we're marching towards legalization, set to happen on Canada Day (Jul 1) 2018. Here the Federal government writes the criminal laws and the Provinces enforce them. So each of the 10 Provinces are scrambling to legislate how it is going to be sold etc with variations from Alberta going pure private business to Quebec going with a government business doing all the dealing. There's also the argument about how the taxes will be split with the feds opening the bargaining at 50/50 and the Provinces screaming "unfair" as they'll have to do the regulating, enforcement etc.

As for the opioid crisis, here in BC we've had safe injection sites for quite a while and they're relatively successful as no one has died in one. doesn't help the people doing it alone at home though.The push is now to decriminalize and the feds are resisting. There is a trial of giving clinical heroin to some junkies that seems quite successful. Heard an interview with one, he now has a job and is a productive member of society. Instead of worrying about his next fix and the quality, just stops at the clinic twice a day for his fix. The feds did announce they will allow the program to expand but they're scared of scaring away the right wingers by allowing too much freedom.It's bedtime so no links right now, my internet connection is shit.

In an email, Davis told the Resident that the [San Jose]city attorney’s office “is preparing to take court action to shut down both illegal dispensaries.” She was referring to Coachella Valley Church at 2142 The Alameda and Oklevueha Native American Church of South Bay at 265 Meridian Ave.
“It’s a priority for me, so I will be doing everything I can to shut down illegal pot clubs, regardless of whether they call themselves churches or not,” Davis said. For the past few years, the city has allowed only 16 cannabis clubs to operate as long as they have permits and pay sales and business taxes.
Davis said City Attorney Rick Doyle told her the two churches “have been in the hopper as part of the regular process of shutting down illegal dispensaries as they pop up.”
Staff and members of Coachella Valley Church, which opened in May, previously told the Resident sales and use of cannabis are exempt under the banner of religious freedom. Members use marijuana both in the downstairs chapel and on the church’s rooftop lounge as part of their Rastafari practice, they said.

--O friend and companion of night, thou who rejoicest in the baying of dogs {here a hideous howl burst forth}...